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Cognition
Mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, & communicating
Meta-cognition
Thinking about thinking; tracking & evaluating mental processes
Prototypes
A mental image or best example of a category which provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories and can help organize unfamiliar items by finding an apropiate category.
Schemas
a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information
Concepts
a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people
Accommodation
Alter the schema to include the new information
Assimilation
Trying to add something to your schema
Convergent thinking
Narrows down the solutions to the single best option
Divergent thinking
Expanding the number of possible problem solutions (brainstorm)
Creativity
Ability to produce new and valuable ideas
Factors involved: Imagination, ventrous, intrinsic motivation, creative environment
Executive Functions
Mental skills used everyday to learn, work, and manage daily life.
Algorithms
Step by step strategy that leads to a specific solution
Heuristic
Step-saving strategy which generates a quick solution
Insight
Sudden realization; a leap forward in thinking that leads to a solution
Trial & Error
Trying various possible solutions, and if it fails, trying others
Confirmation Bias
The tendency to search for information that confirms one’s preconceptions
Mental Set (fixation)
inability to see a problem from a new perspective
Functional Fixedness
Using something for a task that it usually isn’t used for
Overconfidence
Our tendency to be more confident in our abilities than is objectively justified
Belief Perseverance
Maintaining a belief even after it has been proven wrong
Framing
People reacting different depending on how you present it
Representative heuristics
judgements based on how well they match our prototypes
Gambler’s Fallacy
Incorrect assumptions; The odds of a chance event increase if the event hasn’t occured recently
Availability heuristics
judgements based on availability- what comes readily to mind; sometimes based upon our more recent experience
Memory
Any induction that learning has persisted over time; It is our ability to encode, store, and retrieve information
Recall
Retrieving information that is not currently in your conscious awareness but that was learned at an earlier time.
Recognition
Identifying items previously learned
Relearning
Assesses the amount of time saved when learning material again
Encode
The process of getting information into the memory system
Store
The process of retaining information overtime
Retrieve
The process of getting information out of memory storage
Parallel processing
Human ability to address multiple aspects simultaneously
Sensory Memory
The immediate very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system
Duration: less than ½ - a few seconds
Capacity: Unlimited
Iconic
stuff you see
Echoic
stuff you hear
Short-Term Memory
Activated memory that holds a few (5-9) itmes briefly (10-30 seconds) before the information is stored or forgotten
Duration: 20 seconds- 20 minutes
Capacity: 7 +\-2
Long-Term Memory
The relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system
Duration: Unlimited
Capacity: Unlimited
Working Memory
A newer understanding of short-term memory that adds conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual information and data retrieved from long-term memory
The Central Executive
Responsible for distributing resources between the two loops
Phonological Loop
Briefly holds auditory info
Visuospatial Sketchpad
briefly holds objects’ appearance & location in space; visualize and manipulate visual and spatial information in our mind
Prospective Memory
The ability to remember to carry out intended actions in the future
Neurogenesis
ability to create new neurons
Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)
An increase in cell firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation
Implicit Memories
Memory without conscious recall (non-declarative)
Processed in cerebellum and basal ganglia
Explicit Memories
Memory with conscious recall (declarative)
Processed in hippocampus and frontal lobes
Semantic
Facts and general knowledge
Episodic
Personally experienced events
Automatic Processing
implicit memory; procedural
Space, Time, Frequency
Effortful Processing
Explicit Memories
Chunking
Organizing items into familiar, managable units: often occurs automatically
Mnemonics
memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices
Hierarchies
Complex information broken down into broad concepts and further subdivied into categories and sub-categories.
Massed practice
Learning a large amount of material in a single session; less effective than distributed practice
Distributed Practice
The most effective technique to enhance encoding
Spacing effect
The tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through mass study/practice
Testing effect
Enchanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading information
Method of Loci
Involves associating information with visual imagery in familiar spatial environments
Shallow Processing
Encodes on an elementary level, such as word’s letters or, at a more intermediate level, a words sound
Semantic/Deep Processing
Encodes semantically, based on the meaning of the words
Elaborative rehearsal
the process of using active thinking about the meaning of the term that needs to be remembered rather than just repeating the word/information over and over again.
Hippocampus (& frontal lobes)
Processes Explict memories
Cerebellum
Processes implicit memories
Basal Ganglia
Processes motor movement & skill
Amygdala
Triggered by stress hormones and boosts activity in the memory processes (emotional memories)
Memory consolidation
The neural storage or long-term memory, allows for more to be stored by only keeping the most crucial details
Flashbulb memories
Clear, sustained memories of an emotionally significant moments or events
Priming
The activation often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory
Context-dependent memory/Encoding Specificity Principle
The activation of memory when one returns to the setting of the original encoding
Mood-congruent memory
The tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood.
State-dependent memory
The tendency to recall expierences that are consistent with the state in which a person was at the time of encoding.
Serial Position effect
Our tendency to best remember the items at the beggining and end of a list
Recency effect
Better recall at the end of list
Primacy effect
better recall at the start of list
Testing effect
Repeated self-testing (MQs) and rehearsal of previously studied material
Interleaving
a learning strategy that talks about taking two subjects and learning about them simultaneously
Retrograde Amnesia
An inability to recall past memory
Anterograde
an inability to form new memories
Encoding failure
didn’t pay attention well enough to properlly create the memory
Storage decay
Memory has faded over time
Retroactive Interference
The backwords disruptive effect of newer learning on old information
Proactive Interference
The forward acting disruptive effect of older learning on the recall of new information
Repression
Purposely losing a memory
Constructive memory
The process by which memories are formed and recalled, often influenced by existing knowledge and beliefs, leading to potential distortions.
Misinformation effect (research of Elizabeth LOFTUS)
states that a person recall of an event is negatively impacted and becomes less accurate due to information after the event.
Source Amnesia
Impaired memory to how, where, or when information was learned despite good memory for the information itself.
Deja Vu
the eerie sense that you have experienced something before; cues from a current expierences may unconsiously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience
Alzheimer’s Disease
A progression and irreversible brain disorder characterized by gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and, finally, physical function
Infantile amnesia
experience of not consciously remembering the first three years of our lives (we do recall skills & reactions)
